Nelson Mandela: The world mourns giant who showed path to peace

The world is in mourning for Nelson Mandela, the humble giant who led his people to freedom and showed everyone how to make peace.

Side by side, the South African flag and the Union Jack flew at half mast over Downing Street yesterday. Flowers were laid under his statue in Parliament Square. In emotional scenes in South Africa, crowds gathered to sing and dance in the darkness outside the former home in Soweto of their hero, mixing their grief with joy at his achievements.

A full day of tributes is being planned for the House of Commons on Monday, a unique accolade for a foreign statesman. Mandela died peacefully at home at 8.50pm on Thursday night. He had been frail with a lung illness that began during his 27 years of imprisonment, and had not been seen since being sent home from hospital in September.

The news, announced in a TV broadcast by South African president Jacob Zuma, echoed around the world. At the United Nations, delegates stood with heads bowed in silence. "Our nation has lost its greatest son," Mr Zuma said. "Our people have lost a father."

Amid the grieving was a recognition that South Africa, a nation beset by poverty and structural inequality, must face huge challenges without the guiding figure who crafted unity from the collapse of racist white rule.

"God was so good to us in South Africa by giving us Nelson Mandela to be our president at a crucial moment in our history," said long-time ally Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu.

Black day: Police outside the house of former South African President Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg
Mandela was raised in a rural hut, became a lawyer who fought against injustice and to topple apartheid. When peaceful campaigning failed, Mandela became a freedom fighter, organising a guerilla movement.

Press surround a statue of Nelson Mandela at the South African embassy in Washington DC
Hunted by the authorities, he was caught and jailed for 27 years. His release in February 1990, aged 71, was greeted by cheering crowds in South Africa and celebrated across the world. Despite his years of suffering, Mandela inspired the world by preaching a remarkable doctrine of reconciliation.

Good humoured, he often chose colourful African shirts when meeting the statesmen and stars who flocked to meet him.

Tributes: Mourners at the former President's home in Johannesburg
Leading Britain's tributes, the Queen was said to be "deeply saddened" to learn of his death and sent "sincere condolences to his family and to the people of South Africa". Her statement from Buckingham Palace read: "Her Majesty remembers with great warmth her meetings with Mr Mandela. He worked tirelessly for the good of his country, and his legacy is the peaceful South Africa we see today."

David Cameron signed a Book of Condolence at South Africa House in Trafalgar Square yesterday, where millions of Londoners protested during the days of apartheid and imprisonment.

The world mourns: Nelson Mandela and his wife at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
He said: "When you met him, the thing that hit you more than anything else was his extraordinary generosity of spirit, and this extraordinary forgiveness." Labour leader Ed Miliband was phoned with the news at a business dinner. He was deeply moved, said a friend. London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "Nelson Mandela understood the most powerful tool at his disposal was the power of forgiveness."

Prince Charles recalled his "zest for life". A family funeral will be held in the village of Qunu in the Eastern Cape, where Mandela grew up. The state funeral spread over several days will be a global event. President Barack Obama is preparing to fly out.

Tribute: the UN Security Council observes a moment of silence in memory of the passing of Nelson Mandela
Mandela's greatest single moment came when he was sworn in as President of a new South Africa on May 10, 1994. He told the crowd: "Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another."